Cowley College - Tiger Daze Yearbook (Arkansas City, KS)

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Wolf Creelg Plant CHUSBS C011 l'0VCl'Sy HS COIDIJ 8 IOII H2315 As the 52.67 billion nuclear plant neared completion, the public became aware of one unanswered question - who wouldpay for Wolfe Creek? A panic swept the state with the misconception the consumers would be forced to pay for 94 percent of the power plant in one huge rate hike. The House was quick to pass a bill granting power to the Kansas Cor- poration Commission to regulate the Wolfe Creek plant. The Senate was not so quick to hand over that much authority and continued debating the issue. Should the bill pass, KCC would have the authority to exclude from rates any costs stemming from management imprudence, plant inefficiencies and so-called excess generating capacity- the ability to generate power not needed to meet customer demands. The proposal would also allow KCC to phase in rate increases and prohibit some finance carrying charges from being included in rates. Wolfe Creek supporters stressed the unwanted reliance on natural gas, saying the cost, efficiency and availability of the fuel is a liability. KG8.E, along with KCP8.L say any ex- cess power will be swallowed up within a few years because demands for power will rise while they quit relying on some of their old, natural gas-fueled power plants. For this reason, the utilities felt the bill for Wolfe Creek should be passed to the ratepayers. Ratepayers, however, did not agree with the companies. Newspapers across the state were bombarded with letters expressing pros and cons on Wolfe Creek. While some commended the attempt at alternate sources of energy, many of the public felt the plant was a bill they didn't want and couldn't afford to pay. Cabbage Patch Dolls win the hearts of thousands across country As with every Christmas there are always a few items that really catch on as the 'perfect gift' and eventually o e L... cAasAGs PATCH cnAzs - Adopting dolls became the In thing for students like Staci Jlmison. lPhoto by Gary Colllnsl 26fcurrent events Wx l Q We become scarce. Such was the case of the Cabbage Patch dolls. These lovable dolls became the craze of both the young and old across the state. The creation of Xavier Roberts, the Cabbage Patch dolls first originated in Cleveland, GA, as soft sculpture dolls designed by Roberts at his studio called 'Babyland General' four years ago. They sold from S100 to S200 each depending on the amount of detail. The main attraction of the doll was the fact that when it was purchased, it was also adopted making the buyer a parent. The demand was so tremen- dous that Roberts made a deal with Coleco Industries to mass produce the dolls making the dolls more af- fordable, selling for 330. Stores that sold out their stock of the dolls were unable to get more un- til spring. Many children who had their hearts set on a Cabbage Patch doll for Christmas were undoubtly disappointed in Santa Claus as 1983 will be remembered as the year of the Cabbage Patch drought. Pre-releas reduces overcrowded p In Kansas, as in many states, a pressing problem threatened to ex- plode at the cost of both lives and property. The problem was the over- crowding of prisons. Gov. John Carlin recognized the problem and he, with the cooperation of legislature, instantly reacted with stop-gap measures. Part of this measure included the opening of pre- release centers in Winfield and Topeka at the cost of 51.6 million. At the time the legislation was passed, Kansas was only IO short of having its prison population reach it's capacity of 3,800. The centers, which will house non- dangerous inmates who are within 90 days of being released from a Kansas penal institution, are designed to re- orient inmates with the outside world so they would be less likely to return to prison. The prison-release center in Win- field is to be located in the unused facilities at the Winfield State Hospital. The facility will house 144 inmates with a 16-man work crew that arrived in late February from Hutchinson. The first inmate is to arrive on June 16.

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Fire Destroys Histor and damages five other downtown businesses When a fire broke out on main street in downtown Winfield, it was not iust a business that was destroyed but a piece of history. At about 10 p.m. the extensively remodeled Cafe D'Jour was ablaze from a fire starting on the main floor of the kitchen area. It took two hours of combined efforts by 40 firefighters from four different city departments to bring the fire under control. Even then many hours were spent on the scene watching for hot spots and pouring water onthe debris. The restaurant and private supper club, which opened last July, was UP IN SMOKE - Winfield's newly remodeled Cafe D'Jour was destroyed by a fire in February. Not only was the structure demolished, but history was lost forever. lTraveler file photol situated in the TOO-year-old Baden Block building. What once was an historical landmark of Winfield became a pile of ashes when demolition of the building began im- mediately to avoid accidents. Off- duty police officers were hired by in- surance companies because of the safety factors involved. When the front wall of the historical building had pushed in to the east firefighters feared it would affect the other walls. But the Cafe D'Jour was not the only building affected by the fire. Five other businesses-two clothing stores, a carpet store, a iewelry store, and a gift shop-all suffered heavy smoke damage. Perhaps the one bright spot in the whole episode was that no one was iniured. This was overshadowed by the fact that damages exceeded S5U0,000. Although the actual cause of the tire was not determined, samples sent off for study resulted in a suspicion of arson and a full-scale in- vestigation. iolence Mars Rezonin Issue as question becomes emotionally charged for county resi ents Although County zoning has been an issue far the last few years, emotions reached an all time high this year as county residents wrestled with the issues of zoning. 'The Cowley County Commissioners proposed the Zoning Plan to protect the productivity of agriculture and agri-business so the entire county would prosper. People The 4' Ci2tfMS3?Q4'tl F A segment of the public also op- posed the Zoning Plan. They saw it as a regulation of privately owned property. In an attempt to convey their opposition, petitions carrying thousands of names were presented to the board. Some of the public took a harsher stand against the Zoning Plan. They expressed themselves by harrassing commissioners with phone calls and threats. Commissioner Marilyn John- son had a bomb explode in her mailbox. But all the protesting was to no avail. During the year-end meeting, the county-wide Zoning Plan passed 2-'l and became effective April 1, 1984. local news local news local news local news local news local news current events!25

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POWER DEBATE - Wolfe Creek nuclear power plant employed 3 000 workers to have the plant plant raised some questions with consumers. state news state news state news state news state news state news ready for use by' next year. The 52.67 billion iPhoto by Gary Collinsj Kansas Plan dopted to improve education, teachers state wide The Kansas Plan, adopted by K-NEA with the support of Gov. John Carlin, attempted to improve education state wide by addressing three broad areas, and by specifically looking at teachers. A result of different concepts developed by various groups at dif- ferent times, the Kansas Plan is a single effort to put together one cohesive program for the good of all Kansas teachers. According to Gene Buinger, Superintendent of USD 470, the bot- One hitch did spring up when the processes overrar. the mated costs by S500,000. This rougm about a substitution of an utomatic sprinkler system in place of make detectors and fire escapes. espite this change, the head of the Prison System said the in- would not be subiected to any risks because of the cost nter in Winfi, ld lem of Kansas through local facility With the center so closely located to CCCC its effects were obvious. The most evident one would be the sharp rise in the number of corrections maiors in the criminal investigations department. CHECK IT OUT-Many officials inspected the vacant buildings at Winfield State Hospital to voice suggestions for its conversion to a minimum security pre-release center. iPhoto by Don Shrubshellj tom line of the Kansas Plan is higher teacher salaries. The goal is to get Kansas teachers to national average in three years - a modest proposal that doesn't seem to be getting very far in the legislature, he said. Teachers' salaries are not adequate and we have to find a solution to this before we make much progress in education. Another aspect of the Kansas Plan dealt with better preparation and cer- tification for potential teachers. This called for testing of teachers, and required a certain grade point before entering education, and once they start teaching, an internship period, Buinger said. Internship is different than student teaching. They will actually be hired and receive a salary but they will be supervised by a teacher and an administrator for the purpose of proving teachers abilities and ultimately determining whether they should remain in the teaching profession. The third problem addressed in the Kansas Plan was in-service education. This is currently one of the big con- troversies facing the profession. It in- volves improving the training studen- ts receive before they go out and teach, Buinger said. I feel colleges are doing a much better iob with this. Teachers need a strong background in their subiect areas. The importance of these points was stressed by the fact that Kansas is en- tering a period of shortage of teachers. I feel this is one concern, that students in college are not opting to enter education in sufficiant numbers to meet the demand. Marginal people will be hired in this period and become teachers of the future, Buinger said. lt creates an on-going problem. The bottom line is, if you have sufficiant salary, you'll attract capable young people. current events!27